God Is Not Great: Christopher Hitchens Paperback – May 6, 2021

[Repeated from my blog at geoffarnold.com]Over the last year, there have been three important books published on belief and non-belief :* Dan Dennett's Breaking the Spell: Religion as a Natural Phenomenon* Richard Dawkins' The God Delusion* Christopher Hitchens' God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons EverythingI've already written - appreciatively - about the Dennett and Dawkins books, and I must admit that I approached Hitchens with some trepidation. After all, people have been lambasting Dawkins and others for their "intemperate" and "disrespectful" attacks on religion, and that's the kind of thing that seems likely to get Hitchens' juices flowing (metaphorically and literally). But I needn't have worried.First, let me say directly and unambiguously: this is a really good book. Hitchens is a mercurial toper, and he may be (nay, he is) dead wrong on Iraq, but he is a great writer. I find myself reading all of the book reviews that he writes, even if I have no interest whatsoever in the book, just for the pleasure of his prose. He is a literate writer, and he assumes that his readers will recognize quotations and literary allusions without having to be spoon-fed. And he achieves this in an utterly contemporary voice, without retreating into anachronism. So please buy this book, to keep the author well supplied with the vodka which seems to fuel his muse. We need more of his work.Enough of the style: what of the substance? I think that I can best describe my reaction to this book by considering the different uses to which I would put it and its two companions.If a committed theist asked me why she should pay attention to the "new atheism", I would give her Dennett's book. I would hope that she would realize that the modern world provides clear evidence of the diversity of beliefs and non-beliefs, and that perhaps she would agree that this was a subject worth studying, worth considering from outside her (probably exclusive) world-view. What explains belief? Why has belief changed over the years? I wouldn't expect to change her beliefs, but perhaps she could accept that belief and non-belief were legitimate subjects of inquiry.If I met a curious man, embedded in a religious tradition but uncertain of whether (or what) he believed, or if he might actually be losing his faith, I would give him Dawkins' The God Delusion. I'd be hoping that he could appreciate the role of science (and its stepchild, technology) in both understanding and creating the world in which he lives. It's not just iPods and cruise missiles, but also polio vaccine, and clean water, and instruments like the Hubble Space Telescope that help us understand our universe, and DNA sequencing that allows us to diagnose disease but also to see our place in the web of life on this planet. And I would hope that he might come to realize, with Carl Sagan, that the realities of the universe are far more majestic and beautiful than the myths of religion.But suppose that an old friend came to me and asked, "Why are you so fired up about atheism and religion these days? I remember you 15 years ago, and back then you were posting on alt.atheism, and having fun roasting creationists on talk.origins, and reading books on the philosophy of religion. But you didn't talk - and write - about it all the time, and you certainly didn't publically define yourself by your disbelief. So what happened?"Instead of trying to explain all of my reasons, I think I'd simply give them Hitchens' new book and say, "Read this. He puts it better than I ever could. I merely experience the occasional (but increasingly frequent) feelings of frustration, impatience, outrage, and even anger. Hitchens is an unequalled exponent of the art of the rant: he says what I feel, with passion, intensity and wit."This is not a book that seeks to convert. Its purpose is, first and foremost, to explain. To explain why atheists are no longer willing to sit meekly on our hands when the President of the United States says that I don't know that Atheists should be considered as citizens", or when the Archbishop of Canterbury excuses the fatwa against Salman Rushdie, or when Catholic cardinals and archbishops preach that condoms transmit AIDS. Yes, Hitchens also explains why he is an atheist, and the things that he finds mad, bad, or ridiculous about religion. Individual believers will naturally snort, and say that he's not talking about their belief, but that's not the point. He's not seeking to win a debate, or persuade the uncertain: he's laying out facts about the world and his opinions of those facts. And I agree with most of what he says.Perhaps because he is a student of history, and a former Marxist Trotskyite, Hitchens pays particular attention to what he calls An Objection Anticipated: The Last-Ditch "Case" Against Secularism. He's talking (p.230) about the charge that "secular totalitarianism has actually provided us with the summa of human evil." Hitchens' response is lengthy and detailed, and rejects the simplistic lumping-together of the various dictators of the 20th century. He describes how fascism and National Socialism co-opted religious institutions, which responded with unseemly enthusiasm. On the other hand, Communism in Russia and China had more in common with the anticlericalism of the French Revolution. Obviously Communists wished to eliminate any competing source of ideology or loyalty; beyond this, their secularism was less an expression of ontological atheism than of hatred towards the religious institutions which had supported the previous autocracies or imperialists. In fact, Communists were not trying to negate religion, but to replace it, complete with saints, heretics, mummies and icons. It's a complex topic that could fill an entire book, and Hitchens handles it very well.As you may have gathered by now, I really like this book. I really think that it's my favourite of the three, mostly because I learned more from it than the other two, and because it caught my mood so well. Of course there are many things to learn from Dennett and Dawkins, but I've been steeped in their works for the last twenty years, and I think I understand the world from their perspective. With his literary and historical bent, Hitchens provided an intriguingly different point of view. And, as I think I mentioned, the writing is simply superb.

god is not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything by Christopher Hitchens"god is not Great" is a one of the most fascinating books you will ever read. A scholarly, passionate, and witty book that challenges religious dogma with panache. This 336-page book is composed of the following nineteen chapters: 1. Putting It Mildly, 2. Religion Kills, 3. A Short Digression on the Pig; or, Why Heaven Hates Ham, 4. A Note on Health, to Which Religion Can Be Hazardous, 5. The Metaphysical Claims of Religion Are False, 6. Arguments from Design, 7. Revelation: The Nightmare of the "Old" Testament, 8. The "New" Testament Exceeds the Evil of the "Old" One, 9. The Koran Is Borrowed from Both Jewish and Christian Myths, 10. The Tawdriness of the Miraculous and the Decline of Hell, 11. "The Lowly Stamp of Their Origin": Religion's Corrupt Beginnings, 12. A Coda: How Religions End, 13. Does Religion Make People Behave Better, 14. There Is No "Eastern" Solution, 15. Religion as an Original Sin, 16. Is Religion Child Abuse?, 17. An Objection Anticipated: The Last-Ditch "Case" Against Secularism, 18. A Finer Tradition: The Resistance of the Rational, and 19. In Conclusion: The Need for a New Enlightenment.Positives:1. Hitchens writes with panache.2. Thought-provoking does not begin to describe this book.3. Hitchens is the ultimate intellectual entertainer. It takes a brilliant mind and command of the language to be able to convey such lucid thoughts.4. Any book by Hitchens is a quote fest but this is his Magnum Opus.5. Hitchens is able to put into words what many of us think.6. Challenges many religious beliefs of various faiths.7. The uncomfortable nature of religion and sex. Many poignant examples.8. The truth about how agnostic cadets are bullied by "born again" cadres.9. Violations against the Establishment Clause illustrated.10. How religion and faith distort our whole picture of the world. Example, condoms and AIDS.11. Debunks many religious beliefs with compelling arguments. As an example, destroys the absurd notion of a young earth.12. A look back at some fascinating doomsday predictions.13. The clash of science and religion and how religion thwarted scientific progress.14. The arrogance of religion exposed.15. An eye for evolution...you will understand my pun once you read this page-turning book.16. The fallacy of Noah's Ark. We are all wet to believe such things.17. The truth behind the ten commandments and what they don't say.18. The "divine" authority to commit evil. A well developed theme throughout this book.19. The religious dogma that lead to witch hunt.20. Instruments of evil illustrated, oh my.21. What archaeology hasn't uncovered.22. Faith as a mask of insecurity.23. No such things as miracles.24. Many apologetic arguments destroyed.25. Religion as a political source of control.26. This book lead me to watch the Oscar-award winning documentary, "Marjoe". A tale of American evangelical hucksterism. Highly recommended.27. How some religions were invented by opportunists.28. The cruel practice of slavery and its misguided religious justification.29. The impact of Dr. King. Fascinating take.30. Many religious icons presented in a different light.31. Colonel Robert Ingersoll, enough said.32. Cruel creeds at work throughout the planet.33. Vicarious redemption as only Hitchens can express it.34. Dictatorships and their tools of oppression.35. Apartheid and its connection to religion, racism and totalitarianism.36. The lack of evidence for "intercessory" prayer.37. Very few people are as well read as Hitchens, but what sets him apart is his ability to relay topic-appropriate narratives with flair and this book exemplifies that.38. Well researched and referenced book.Negatives:1. This is not an even-handed book and Hitchens makes no bones about it. Hitchens did not write this book to give you the positives about religion so if you are looking for a fair assessment, you must look elsewhere.2. His brutal unrelenting honesty will rub those who oppose his views in a bad way.3. I have no problems going after immoral dogma, but I do have some reservations about equating immoral dogma with immoral believer. I think that distinction gets lost in this book.4. Clearly religion doesn't poison everything as evidenced by many of the good works of religious believers. That much we can say for certain, however I do have a problem with good acts in conjunction with proselytizing. Hitchens has done a very good job of clearing this issue up after the book was released.5. Having to wait for Mr. Hitchens next great book.In summary, this is one of the most thought-provoking books you will ever read. Hitchens establishes the premise of his book and he never relents. He never holds back and does so with an intellectual passion rarely seen. Fascinating, witty, enlightening, and irreverent but never boring. In the proper context, this is a "bad" book that is good for you. Highly recommended.Further suggestions: "Cruel Creeds, Virtuous Violence" by Jack David Eller, "Why I Became an Atheist..." by John Loftus, "God's Problem" by Bart D. Ehrman, "Godless..." by Dan Barker, "The God Virus" by Darrel Ray, "The End of faith" by Sam Harris, "The Religion Virus" by Craig A. James, "The God Delusion" by Richard Dawkins, and "God and His Demons" by Michael Parenti.